It is an 8-bit protocol, capable of handling any type of file without further processing such as MIME or UUEncode[?]. However, FTP has extremely high latency; that is, the time between beginning the request and starting to receive the required data can be quite long, and a sometimes-lengthy login[?] procedure is required.

It is hard to filter FTP traffic using a firewall, since the data connection is made to an apparently arbitary port

It is possible to tell a server to send to an arbitrary port of a third computer

FTP, though usable directly by a user at a terminal, is designed mainly for use by programs.

Many sites that run FTP servers enable so-called "anonymous ftp". Users do not need an account[?] on the server. They are asked to send their email addresses as their passwords, but there is no verification.